There comes a time in every writer’s life when awareness begins to creep in.  Have so many years gone by already?  We examine our warranties only to find they expired around the 40th birthday.  Maintenance is now part of reality.  Sometimes maintenance isn’t enough and a part needs to be replaced, rebuilt, or done without.

“What is she talking about?”

“I have no clue.  We’re in the middle of a novel here.  We don’ t have time for a sidetrack.”

“It must be going to mess up our schedule.  Here she is again.”

Funny, maintenance never seems to hush the little voices that live in the writer’s head, but that’s probably a good thing.  Split personalities make character creation easier?  Hmm…discuss.

My chassis is scheduled for maintenance in a few days (and of course the notebook goes along).  I expect to be back on line by Wednesday, November 18th, ready to crack jokes about the new scar.  And another question…if chicks dig scars, why don’t dudes?

So my notebook will get to see everything through being knocked out and I’ve been promised it will be next to me when I wake up.  We’re in the middle of NaNoWriMo, I explain to the nurse.  I look her in the eye.  This is very important.  She controls her desire to roll eyes back at me and promises the notebook will be with me when I wake up.

We get all the way out to the car before my husband tells me I forgot to negotiate the pen.  I have a plan.  I’m going to tape it to my hip.  Think they’ll notice?

Here are links for some of the best things I’ve seen on the web this week. Let me know what you think.

In other news, I am collecting links for author sites that offer good advice to new and hopeful writers. If you know of an author site with good information, please let me know or put it in the comments. Thank you.

Daily Writing Tips has some great links to play with when you need a little inspiration.

I feel a curious sense of vindication for my longhand habits in this article from enews.

Very nice look into the life of an aspiring author from Mornara.

I found an excellent trio of articles at Psychology Today (courtesy LeisureGuy) by Susan Perry, PhD: People Who Need People…Get Writers Block, Fear of Flow, Part 1, and Fear of Flow, Part 2.

For free-lance Writers, Freelance Jobs had a funny post with hilarious comments that continued for days.

J A Konrath, author, offers a free downloaded Ebook titled The Newbies Guide to Publishing Book. 751 pages of information are included.

Nice article on characterization from Annie.

Blogthings posted an interesting quiz on what type of writer we should be.

Is Effort a Myth? See what Seth Godin has to say.

While written for those working in a home office environment, this advice is great for writers, too!

Article on reducing the physical strain on bloggers.

Strangegirl.com has a quiz to see which Jane Austen character best suits you. I am Anne Elliot.

Enjoy!

I haven’t done a meme yet, but I like this one.  I got this from  Melissa Donovan’s Writing Forward.  She found it over at Write from Home, courtesy Amy Derby.

What was the last book you bought?

I bought /came home with four books on Sunday
·    How to Grow a Novel, Sol Stein
·    The Illuminator, first novel by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
·    Putting Your Passion Into Print by Arielle Eckstut & David Henry Sterry
·    Getting Things Done, by David Allen

Name a book you have read MORE than once

I think I’ve read every Forgotten Realms book we own at least twice, and half of them three times.  A couple books I keep going back to are Creating A Life Worth Living and Writing Down the Bones.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

You mean aside from the Bible?  Yes, several.  Creating a Life Worth Living was instrumental in helping me figure out what to do with the life handed back to me after a life threatening illness.  Gentle Persuasion opened up a new world for me.  Becoming a Writer (Dorothea Brande, the 1981 version),  Please Understand Me, and Mars and Venus Starting Over also changed a lot of things for me in terms of who I wanted to be and where I wanted to go.

How do you choose a book – eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

Cover and back flap copy unless a book has been recommended.  I am also very loyal to authors I enjoy.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

I’ll always choose fiction when reading to relax.  I enjoy learning and personal enrichment/development, so I pick up quite a few non-fiction books as well.  Reading in order to provide book reviews for the site is almost all non-fiction.

What’s more important in a novel – beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

The best books have both, right?  A page-turning plot will keep me reading even if the writing isn’t stellar.  Beautiful writing eventually gets set aside if there’s no story there.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

Okay, I don’t care if I’m embarrassed by my answer…I still like Elizabeth Bennet!  I like the lead character from Persuasion almost as much.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

How to Grow a Novel (Sol Stein), Waterdeep, City of Splendors (Ed Greenwood).  Well, those are on top.  I have a stack of books next to the night stand, a stack ON the nightstand, and a stack on a small stool nearby.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

How to Grow a Novel (Sol Stein); I’ll likely finish it tonight.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

Maybe a time or two.  A trip to the bookstore usually has me reading the first few pages of each new book until one grips me for the duration.  I haven’t given up on The History of Writing, but need to take it in small portions.

Who’s Next?

So this is my first post of this type.  My current reading list is posted on this blog, linked at the top.  Melissa Donovan called this the Book Lovers’ Special.  Now it’s time to pass the special on.  Copy and paste this post into your own blog or email and replace the answers with your own.  Share the information and tip us all to some good books!

B J Keltz

Marie from 1Writeway kindly commented on my blog earlier today and posted about this blog on hers.  She introduced me to Library Thing.  I once worked in a library (no surprise to people who know me), and my several hours cruising around Library Thing made me quite nostalgic for the days I spent surrounded by the wit, wisdom, and learning of thousands of authors.

In addition to setting up your own profile and cataloging your own library (which is hard if the copies of the books you own are no longer in print.  Switch from Amazon to Library of Congress if you need out of print editions), there are a LOT of groups you can join for conversation and threads and author profiles to visit.  There is even a group for bloggers and another for writer-readers.

I managed to get 72 books from our personal library loaded into my profile before my eyes needed a rest.  That’s three shelves of one bookcase (of three bookcases, a china cabinet stuffed with books, the guest room closet, armoire, stacks on both sides of the bed, dresser, bedroom closet, living room surfaces (every one), and boxes stashed here and there).  It would take me more time than I have to upload my entire library, but I’ll plug away at it time permitting.  Just a note, I started with the first few authors my eyes fell across, so I’m sure my profile makes me look kind of odd, lol.

Library Thing is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Thanks, Marie!